All posts by Francis Mitterrand

News

This Xiaomi SU7 Just Drove 265,000 Kilometers—and Its Battery Is Still On 94.5 Percent Capacity

If you want to understand the future of electric cars, sometimes it helps to look not at shiny auto-show concepts but at a very tired driver and a very not-tired battery.

Somewhere in China, a Xiaomi SU7 owner known online as Feng has quietly done what most EV skeptics insist can’t be done: he drove his electric sedan 265,000 kilometers in just 18 months—nearly the distance from Earth to the Moon—and the battery still looks like it just finished its break-in period.

According to a diagnostic report issued by Xiaomi’s own service center, the SU7’s 94.3-kWh pack is still holding 94.5 percent of its original capacity. In battery-speak, that’s astonishing. Feng averaged almost 500 kilometers per day, every day, for a year and a half. That’s the kind of usage that normally turns lithium-ion packs into cautionary tales. Instead, this one came back with barely a wrinkle.

To put that number in perspective, most automakers promise that after eight years or roughly 150,000 to 160,000 kilometers, your EV battery won’t degrade more than 20 to 30 percent. Tesla, for example, guarantees its Model 3 and Model Y will retain at least 70 percent capacity over that span. Feng’s SU7 has already blown past those mileage figures—and it’s still sitting north of 94 percent.

A High-Mileage Stress Test

The service report suggests the battery has gone through roughly 506 full charge cycles. That’s not light use. That’s the sort of cycling you’d expect to expose weaknesses in cell chemistry, thermal management, or charging strategy. Instead, the SU7’s pack seems to be taking it in stride.

And it’s not just the battery that’s holding up. Xiaomi’s technicians also noted that Feng hasn’t needed a brake-pad replacement yet, a reminder of how effective regenerative braking can be when used this heavily. Even the cooling system passed with flying colors—the coolant showed no water contamination, a detail that quietly signals good long-term system integrity.

In other words, this SU7 isn’t just surviving. It’s aging gracefully.

Why This Matters

Xiaomi may be new to the car business, but this kind of real-world data is exactly what separates marketing promises from engineering reality. Anyone can quote lab numbers. Feng delivered something far more valuable: a brutal, everyday stress test.

High-mileage EVs are still rare enough that every one of them becomes a rolling experiment. And this experiment suggests that Xiaomi’s battery management and thermal systems are doing something very right. If a pack can keep more than 94 percent of its capacity after 265,000 kilometers of near-constant driving, that’s not a fluke—that’s a design philosophy paying off.

The Road to 600,000

Feng isn’t done. His next target is 600,000 kilometers, which he expects to reach within three years. When he gets there, he plans to publish another full wear-and-tear report, effectively turning his SU7 into one of the world’s most documented long-term EV tests.

If the battery keeps degrading at this rate, that future report might be even more impressive than the first.

And for an industry still fighting doubts about durability, that may be the most important data point of all.

Source: Xiaomi; Photo: EPA-EFE

News

China Just Slammed the Door on Fancy EV Handles

It finally happened. After years of flush-mounted, motorized, and frankly over-engineered door handles taking over the EV world, China has decided it’s had enough.

Beginning January 1, 2027, every electric vehicle sold in China will be required to have old-fashioned, mechanical door handles—inside and out. No motors. No pop-out theatrics. No “wait for the handle to present itself” UX experiments. Just something you can grab and pull when things go wrong.

And things have gone very wrong.

The move comes after a string of high-profile, fatal EV crashes in which doors were allegedly impossible to open because the vehicles had lost electrical power. Two particularly horrific Xiaomi EV accidents, in which occupants and would-be rescuers reportedly couldn’t open the doors before fire overtook the cars, turned public outrage into regulatory action.

China’s message is clear: if the power goes out, the doors still need to open. Period.

Not Just a Ban—A Design Rewrite

This isn’t some vague safety guideline. According to Bloomberg, China’s new rules read like a door-handle engineer’s fever dream.

Exterior handles must include a physical handhold measuring at least 60 mm by 20 mm—big enough for a rescuer’s gloved hand to find and yank after a crash. Inside, emergency door releases must be clearly labeled with signage at least 1 cm by 0.7 cm, positioned in standardized locations.

And here’s the killer: automakers are no longer allowed to rely on electronically powered handles at all—even if they include backup batteries or mechanical pull cables. If it needs electricity to work, it’s out.

That wipes out a massive chunk of the EV design playbook. Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y? Affected. BMW’s upcoming China-market iX3? Yep. Nio, Li Auto, Xpeng, Xiaomi—all built their brand identities partly around the sleek, hidden-handle aesthetic that China just declared unsafe.

As recently as April, about 60 percent of China’s top-selling new-energy vehicles used concealed or power-presented door handles. That entire trend now has a 2027 expiration date.

This Will Cost Automakers Real Money

Redesigning a door handle isn’t just swapping out a piece of trim. These systems are baked into crash structures, wiring looms, door skins, water seals, and interior panels.

A source familiar with Chinese EV development told Bloomberg that retrofitting a model to comply with the new rules could cost as much as 100 million yuan—about $14.4 million—per vehicle line. Multiply that across dozens of models, and suddenly door handles are a nine-figure problem.

Some brands saw this coming. Geely and BYD have already started creeping back toward traditional exposed handles, and Tesla’s design chief admitted months ago that the company was preparing for a regulatory pivot.

But here’s the twist: China’s EV-only rule is going to affect far more than just China.

Why This Won’t Stay in China

Automakers hate building region-specific hardware. It’s expensive, messy, and kills economies of scale. If China—the world’s largest EV market—requires mechanical door handles, most global automakers will simply standardize on compliant designs everywhere.

That means the end of pop-out handles may not be limited to Beijing or Shanghai. It could quietly kill the trend worldwide.

And that’s not just speculation. Tesla is already under formal investigation in the U.S. over its door systems, and European regulators have begun exploring their own restrictions. Once one major regulator draws a hard line, others tend to follow.

China may have just fired the opening shot in a global design rollback.

The Weird Part: Gas Cars Get a Free Pass

Here’s where things get awkward.

The ban applies only to electric vehicles—even though most EV door handles run on the same 12-volt electrical systems used in gas cars. In other words, the thing China says is dangerous on an EV is apparently fine on an SUV with a V-8.

Case in point: the Infiniti QX80 already uses electrically powered, pop-out door handles. If its battery were knocked out in a crash, it could fail in exactly the same way as the EVs now being regulated.

So yes, the law is inconsistent. But it still sets a powerful precedent: regulators are no longer willing to let “cool” design trump basic mechanical fail-safes.

The End of the Flush-Handle Era?

For a decade, electronic door handles were the visual shorthand of the modern EV—clean, aerodynamic, and vaguely futuristic. They also turned out to be a liability when everything else goes wrong.

China just decided that doors exist for emergencies, not Instagram.

And once the world’s largest EV market says something is unsafe, it rarely stays optional for long.

If you love pop-out handles, enjoy them while you can. The industry just got a very loud reminder that sometimes the best technology is the one that still works when the lights go out.

Source: Bloomberg

News

Porsche Chooses Tobias Sühlmann to Shape Its Future

For more than 20 years, Porsche’s look has been guided by one steady hand. From the evolution of the 911’s timeless silhouette to the once-controversial but now indispensable Panamera, Michael Mauer didn’t just design cars—he defined what modern Porsche means. But starting February 1, 2026, that responsibility will pass to a new generation, as Tobias Sühlmann steps in as Porsche’s new Head of Design.

Sühlmann, 46, arrives from McLaren, where he’s been Chief Design Officer since 2023, and his résumé reads like a greatest-hits album of modern performance brands: Volkswagen, Bugatti, Aston Martin, Bentley, and now Porsche. If there’s a common thread in that lineup, it’s high-speed elegance—and that’s exactly what Stuttgart is betting on as it navigates an electrified, software-driven future.

The End of the Mauer Era

Michael Mauer, now 63, leaves behind one of the most influential design legacies in Porsche history. Since taking the job in 2004, he’s been the caretaker of one of the most recognizable shapes in the automotive world: the 911. Under his leadership, Porsche modernized without losing its soul, a balancing act that many legacy brands have fumbled.

Mauer also helped Porsche expand its design language beyond sports cars. The Panamera, launched in 2009, was a gamble—a four-door Porsche sounded like heresy at the time—but it became a cornerstone of the brand. Then came the 918 Spyder, which proved that electrification could coexist with exotic performance long before hybrids were cool.

More recently, Mauer led Porsche into the EV era, making sure the Taycan and future electric models still look unmistakably Porsche. His philosophy was simple but demanding: a Porsche should appeal to all the senses, not just the stopwatch.

And he’s not disappearing overnight. Mauer will stay on during a transition period, ensuring that Porsche’s design DNA doesn’t get lost in the handoff.

Enter Tobias Sühlmann

If Porsche wanted a safe, conservative pick, Sühlmann wouldn’t be it—and that’s the point.

He, like Mauer, studied at the legendary Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences, but his career has taken him through some of the most daring design studios in the industry. From shaping Bugatti hypercars to refining Aston Martin’s elegance and helping craft Bentley’s ultra-exclusive Batur, Sühlmann has spent his career where luxury, performance, and bold styling collide.

His most recent stint at McLaren is especially telling. Woking isn’t known for nostalgia—it’s about aerodynamic aggression and futuristic surfaces. That influence could push Porsche’s design language into sharper, more expressive territory without abandoning its iconic roots.

Porsche CEO Michael Leiters has made it clear what he expects: Sühlmann is there to “sharpen Porsche’s profile.” In other words, this isn’t about reinvention—it’s about turning up the contrast.

What This Means for Future Porsches

This leadership change comes at a critical moment. Porsche is preparing for a future where electrification is the rule, not the exception. The next-generation 718 will be electric. More battery-powered models are coming. And design will have to do more than ever to preserve emotional appeal when engine noise fades away.

Sühlmann’s background in high-end sports and supercars makes him uniquely suited to that challenge. Expect Porsches that look more sculpted, more aggressive, and perhaps more experimental—especially as new EV platforms free designers from traditional packaging constraints.

But don’t expect the 911 to suddenly forget who it is. Porsche is famously cautious with its icons, and Mauer’s continued involvement during the transition will ensure continuity. The headlights will still look like Porsche headlights. The roofline will still whisper “911.” The soul will still be there.

A Generational Shift, Not a Revolution

Porsche isn’t ripping up its design rulebook—it’s passing it to a new author.

Michael Mauer wrote one of the longest and most successful chapters in the brand’s history, guiding Porsche through SUVs, sedans, hybrids, and EVs without losing its visual identity. Tobias Sühlmann now gets to write the next one, armed with experience from some of the world’s most exciting performance brands.

For Porsche fans, that’s not something to fear. It’s something to watch closely.

Source: Porsche